T-Building City — that’s what Principal John Threet calls the temporary buildings at West University Elementary — will have more occupants this coming school year.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment for West University recently approved a special exemption for West U Elementary to have up to three temporary buildings for the next two years.

The school currently has one temporary building in place and is looking to add two more for this coming school year. The school requested permission for two more after that to account for any future growth in enrollment, but that was not approved.

Increasing enrollment has become an issue for the elementary school. Since 2004, the school has grown from 972 pupils to 1,217 last year, including a jump of 120 students in one year. This year the school is projected to have 1,240 pupils.

Out of the 1,217 attending last year, only 60 were transfers. Only 5 percent of the students attending the school aren’t from the surrounding area, which means more parents from the neighborhood are sending their children to West U Elementary.

“I think in some ways we’re victims of our own success,” Threet said. “As we have become more successful and received lots of recognition, more and more of the neighborhood parents are saying, ‘That’s where I’m going to send my child.’”

Houston ISD added more classrooms to the school in 2008 and with more classrooms than needed for anticipated growth, but it turned out to be inadequate. Threet said that HISD has no plans to add more classrooms to the school to compensate for the additional growth, because there are places that need the money more than West U Elementary.

Since HISD has no plans for additional construction, these temporary buildings are not likely to actually be temporary. However, Threet sees a future, where enrollment could go down, allowing the school to get rid of the temporary buildings.

“Neighborhoods change over time,” Threet said. “You could conceivably have a situation where 10 years from now numbers are dropping significantly as the area gentrifies, and that has happened as an ebb and flow throughout the history of this school.“